Purple
by lady-emeraldeyes09
Summary: Metacrisis Doctor recalls three distinct occasions in which Rose's favorite purple jacket played an important part. (Started as a challenge prompt suggested by a friend.)


PURPLE

Rose's favorite color to wear was purple. It used to be pink, but once her mother started pointing out how the color pink was bringing out the red in her face (usually brought on by a certain touch or look from the Doctor) she switched to purple. It started with accents, a simple belt or bracelet here or there, and soon she settled on a favorite – her purple leather jacket that she had bought years ago, and was able to find again at the exact same shop here in this parallel universe. Now that _her_ Doctor had shown appreciation for what the color did to compliment her skin, she wore it nearly every day it was cold enough.

Sitting at home with Rose, the Doctor had grown to love to study her. He hadn't gotten the opportunity to do this very much on the TARDIS, at least not while Rose was awake. He didn't need much sleep himself, so he spent a lot of idle time at night internally laughing at Rose's funny, sprawled-out sleeping positions and watching the slight rise and fall of her chest while she dreamed. Now, while the pair of them were awake and sitting across from one another in their sitting room, he got to watch her again. He particularly enjoyed her facial expressions while she read a favorite book for the hundredth time, smiling and crying (and sometimes yelling) with the characters. Occasionally when she forgot he was there, she would read the lines aloud in her best impression of each character.

And she was always wearing her purple jacket. He liked to believe she did it for him.

Deep in the mind of this part-human Doctor were three very distinct memories that involved that jacket.

::-::-::

"Doctor, I forgot to get a towel! I'm comin' out of the shower. Don't look, okay?" Rose thumped around the bathroom, giggling when she slipped momentarily and banged on the door. Immediately after delivering Margaret's egg to Raxacoricofallapatorius, she had decided it was time for a shower and a nap. The TARDIS had generously provided a spacious bathroom for her, with all the fixtures she could have wanted. Except for towels, of course.

"All right, not looking. " Rose was unaware of the Doctor's sharp visual acuity and increased peripheral vision, so he deliberately looked away from the hallway leading from the bathroom to the TARDIS' control room, where she would have to walk through to get back to her bedroom to change, but did not close his eyes. He heard the soft patter of Rose's wet feet on the floor, and he successfully watched her from the corner of his eye as she rounded the hallways.

That small purple jacket was tied loosely round her waist, the back of it just barely covering her rear. She had her arms crossed over her chest and her hair was dripping water down her body. She jogged to get back to her room and halfway down the hall the jacket slid off of her body and fell to the floor. The Doctor thanked his lucky stars that she didn't see him doubled over with laughter before her bedroom door clicked shut.

::-::-::

She was staring at him, he knew it. He could see her figure, but not her face. She was definitely staring at him, though.

"_Doctor…_"

Her voice was a distant echo. He could see her silhouetted against the sun that was setting in the north. The silver forest around them appeared to be set aflame by the setting sun, and the wind that blew through Rose's beautiful yellow hair made the trees sing.

"_Doctor…_"

Rose walked to him slowly, but her image did not clear. He shivered – the wind was blowing harder. Before he could figure out what was happening, he felt her soft lips on his own. Instinct had him pulling away but he couldn't move. She could feel her fingers running through his hair as she deepened her kiss, and he longed to reach out and hold her. He tried moving his arms. Nothing.

"_Doctor…_"

Rose was unbuttoning his shirt. He shivered again as Rose's fingers skirted over his skin. He felt her fingertips on his chest as she pushed his shirt off of his shoulders, and his hearts sped up at her touch.

Suddenly the sky lit up with a bright light, and the Doctor shot awake, instantly orienting himself to the TARDIS' dim blue lights. It was unusually cold, even for a Time Lord's decreased body temperature. Shaking his head, he fought to remember the vivid dream. In the dream he had known his surroundings instantly as Gallifrey, but it felt so real that he hadn't questioned it. He shivered again, more from his nerves than the temperature. Seeing Rose on Gallifrey made him ache for his home planet more than he had in quite some time.

A soft snore coming from the other side of the room caught his attention. He stood up and something fell from his lap to the floor. It was Rose's purple jacket. He recalled sitting in the jump seat after leaving 1953 London (and rescuing hundreds of faces) and telling Rose he was shutting his eyes for a few minutes, and not to touch the controls because he was putting it on idle inside the time vortex. Naturally, she had rolled her eyes at him. He must have fallen asleep. He shrugged; perhaps he wasn't as immune to electricity as he thought.

But what touched him was that Rose had taken off her jacket (after changing out of the 50's garb the TARDIS had produced for her) and covered him with it before falling asleep herself. He brought the jacket up to his nose and smelled of it deeply; Rose's scent had carved itself into his mind by that point, and it brought a nostalgic smile to his lips. He laid the jacket on the jump seat, reset the temperature controls on the control panel, and lifted Rose into his arms. Her bedroom was right down the hallway, and he knew she would appreciate waking up in her own bed. After laying her down, Rose contorted into another twisted sleeping position, and he laughed softly. This brought a smile to Rose's beautiful face – the Doctor liked to believe she had heard him in her sleep. Before leaving her room, he took off his duster and draped it over her.

::-::-::

Purple wasn't a bad color on _him_, either.

Rose was going to get off of work a little late that day, and the Doctor couldn't resist trying it on. That little purple leather jacket, Rose's favorite, was a little short on him but it smelled like her. Heart racing, he opened the little velvet ring holder to look at the diamond ring for the hundredth time. Tomorrow night was _the night_.

He had it all planned out; on the anniversary of their first day together in this universe, the Doctor would bring along a packed picnic dinner to the beach and they would dine on strawberries (Rose's favorite) and champagne and they would lie on his duster to watch the sun set. As the sun was going down, he was going to tell her how much he loved her and ask her to marry him.

But for now her smell would have to suffice. He checked himself out in their bedroom mirror and doubled over with laughter at the sight. Rose would _die_ if she saw him in the jacket.

He heard the lock on the front door start to rattle, and his breath caught in this throat.

"Doctor, are you here? Jane showed up today after all, so I didn't have to work late." The Doctor scrambled to get the jacket off before Rose saw him, but the blasted zipper was stuck. Frantic, he jerked the ring box inside the jacket's pocket before she could see it. He heard her footsteps coming through the sitting room, and then she saw him. "What on _earth_?" Rose's smile lit up the room and her laughter rang like a song. "That really is a nice color on you; I told you it would be. Now take it off," she joked. Finally the zipper came loose and the Doctor put the jacket back on Rose's dresser, ring forgotten.

The next morning, a Saturday, Rose put on the jacket over her nightie and went to the kitchen to make tea. The Doctor woke up not long after she did, and he was still blinking the sleep from his eyes when he saw her from the doorway. Her mouth was wide open in shock.

"Doctor, what is this?" She held the dark blue ring box in her hand. The Doctor had deliberately purchased that ring at one particular jewelry shop because it just so happened that their ring boxes were TARDIS blue. Since he couldn't answer her, she opened the box and let out a scream.

"Oh, _Doctor_!"

The Doctor crossed the kitchen in two strides, his heart racing. "I was going to do this tonight, but I guess now is a good time as any." He knelt down on one knee (hours of research told him that this was romantic and customary) and took the box from Rose's hand. The words came to him as he spoke.

"Rose Tyler, the day I met you, I had no idea what you would mean in my life. In nine hundred years of time and space, I never dreamed that I would see what I have seen, and do what I have done, and still live to deserve a love like you have for me. You have saved my life in so many ways, and I can't imagine my life without you. You taught me how to love again, and that even two old hearts can be healed." Rose was crying and could barely contain her own words. He smiled – he knew the perfect finish. "I only have one life, Rose Tyler, and I could spend it with you, if you want." Placing the ring on Rose's left ring finger, he asked, "will you marry me?"

Rose was crying even harder now, but her "yes" was very clear. She laughed as the Doctor lifted her in the air and spun her around in a kiss. He put her down, but Rose didn't let go. She cried into his shoulder, repeating "I love you, I love you" over and over for three solid minutes. At last she looked him in the eyes again, eyes red but shining with joy.

"I've got to call my mum!" Rose wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. Running through the sitting room, she threw the jacket off and it landed on the sofa. Studying the jacket again, the Doctor knew that it happened this way for a reason. He wiped his own tears when he heard Rose's excited voice hurriedly announcing their engagement to her mother, and Jackie's subsequent screaming, which echoed through the flat.

Planning this wedding was going to be interesting, to say the least.

::-::-::

"Doctor, are you daydreaming again?" Rose was fiddling with a frayed string on her jacket, smiling at him over her book.

"Yes, I was, actually. Thinking about that jacket." The Doctor stood up and strode across the living room to his wife, who squealed with laughter when he tackled her on the sofa.

The purple leather jacket flew across the living room, their tea forgotten for now.


End file.
